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Totally agree on the squad part...I caught a glimpse of Bazunu after the the final whistle and he looked like he'd just won the euro millions. Every one of them is going back to their clubs hoping to prove themselves and fight for a place in March.
Out best managers created that mindset, our worst, including Trap, did the opposite
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Originally Posted by rebelmusic
100% on Trap.
I played (Gaelic) under certain managers and you knew they had their favourites and they had others they didn't really care about. Trap was like that.
I'm not sure any of the players don't think HH thinks highly of them.
Jim Gavin did the same with the Dubs. None of those players took it for granted and were made very aware of how lucky they were to play for Dublin and for each other. Very good man-management.
I think the way he dropped and then recalled Molumby set a precendent that you have to perform to stay in the squad, but that there will be opportunities to get back and it's up to the players to take them.
I think that had a positive impact on Molumby, and i think decisions like that have have a positive impact on the squad overall.
e.g. I'm not sure some of our previous managers would have picked Festy over a Premier League players like Doherty, regardless of how he played for us. At times the inexperience of Festy is obvious, but it's far preferable to the dross Doherty was offering up
In fairness to HH, all the issues he diagnosed when he came onboard we've seen a lot of growth over the campaign. To name a couple
The 'shirt is heavy': It really was in the first two games. By Lisbon there was really significant change and whatever you want to say about Amenia in Dublin, we kept a clean sheet and we won. They reverted to type in Yerevan and I think finally took responsibility.
We need more bast****: 3 red cards in a campaign and two of those at least were a result of the Irish players getting under the skin of the opposition. We haven't seen that since Jack's day really.
People aren't fighting for places: The 23 man squad logic ended up being really shrewd tactics. Festy having his Twitter meltdown. Molumby being ****ed off. Coleman being ****ed off. Doherty finally being dropped That's what we've needed for years.
I could go on an on but HH has been like a politician that actually keeps his campaign promises. Suffice it to say, I'm a huge fan at this point and even if we bottle it in the playoffs he deserves another campaign
Not sure where to put this, but has there been a weirder qualifying campaign? (And maybe even for other countries, not just an Irish qualifying campaign!)
First game - we were dead and buried after 15 minutes. 2-0 down to Hungary at home, and qualifying hopes were already over. The campaign looked like being the same as Kenny's campaigns. After all, if Hungary were steamrollering us at home, we had no chance away. But the second half was a completely different beast - the red card helped of course, but we got Hungary under intense pressure and finally equalised in the last minute
Second game - completely outplayed by Armenia. Up there with Kenny's worst performances, and you wouldn't have begrudged Armenia their VAR-disallowed third
Third game - attackers v defenders in Lisbon. 30 shots v 2. But we saved a penalty and were within minutes of an utterly unlikely draw
Fourth game - more drivel against Armenia, this time at home. The Armenian guy who headbutted Molumby (was it?) saved our campaign. We were great after that, and their keeper made some top saves.
Fifth game - outplayed Portugal, a month after struggling for long patches against Armenia. Our greatest qualifying performance ever? Well, for four days anyway. And Ronaldo's first Portugal red card into the bargain
Sixth game - 3-2 v Hungary.
To get all those highs and lows into one campaign is wildly improbable. Don't recall anything like it.
It really was. Total rollercoaster...the emotions were hard to manage!Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
1. Disappointed relief
2. Despair
3. Bittersweet / Proud Heartbreak
4. Angry relief
5. Joy
6. Ecstasy